Thailand's New E-Work Permits Bring An End To Blue Books

Foreigners employed in Thailand are required to obtain an appropriate visa as well as a work permit.  Work permits are issued by the Ministry of Labor and take the form of a small, passport sized "blue book", containing details such as the employee's position, name and location of employer, date of birth, and nationality, along with multiple pages for work permit renewal stamps.

The "blue book" will now be replaced with what is being referred to as an "E-Work Permit", which is credit card sized ID card containing much of the same information as in the "blue book".  The E-Work Permit will also include security and fraud prevention features such as a barcode and QR Code.  This change has been brought about via the Ministry of Labour's Ministerial Regulation  on "Application for and Issuance of Work Permits and Notification of Employment of Foreign Workers" (No. 2) B.E. 2560 (2017) which came into effect on April 1, 2017.